Three White Roses
by Famfrit
Summary: A short story about the party of FFT meeting up at the end of the game. SPOILER WARNING! Please tell me if you would like me to continue this.


Hey, it's me, Famfrit! Just a little attempt at something new... Hmmmm... This is Final Fantasy Tactics, NOT Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, for your information, and takes place after the game has ended. Also, there are MAJOR SPOILERS, so if you haven't finished the game I discourage you reading this. Anyways, on with the story! Oh yes, I don't own Final Fantasy Tactics or Square Enix.

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"These flowers look very nice, why don't you buy these?" said the flower lady. She was an old woman with a wizened face and curly white hair. She wore tatty white peddler's robes and was busily bundling beautiful pink, red, and white flowers together for the people visiting the cemetery.

"They look pretty," the girl said rather shyly, taking the bouquet the lady offered. It was three white roses. The girl handed the woman a few coins and then walked off into the cemetery where she was finally alone with her thoughts.

No one would recognize her now even if they tried. Her long, chestnut hair would put them off track almost immediately. She did wear a jade robe, however, tied with a gold sash, but she no longer held her sword or shield... At least not right now. She was in disguise at the moment. Only someone who knew her well would be able to identify her, only if they looked very closely. If they did, they would recognize her as Meliadoul Tingel.

She remembered everything about her journey with Ramza, how she destroyed the manifestation of evil that was her father and brought peace back to Ivalice, or so they thought. King Delita was a judicious, wise ruler, but she knew the truth. If anyone should've been king, it would be Ramza... But he was dead now. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes, and she brushed them away with a silk-gloved hand.

She saw the statue she had been looking for, a dragon with a crouched knight rider holding a jagged blade. Someone cloaked in black stood at its base. The cloaked figure turned to her, and their black hood dropped. Meliadoul could tell who it was easily now.

"Hello, Mustadio," she said, stopping briefly. The young engineer had changed quite a lot for the occasion. His blond ponytail had been cut, and now his hair was unusually short. He didn't wear his engineer's clothes; instead he wore a thick black cloak. Meliadoul could easily tell he was unarmed.

"Long time no see, Meliadoul," Mustadio said, giving the former Shrine Knight a hug. Meliadoul accepted it warmly, gripping her friend tightly. She knew now to savor friendships, as they were precious commodities in a hostile nation such as Ivalice.

"Reis and Beowulf said they'd meet up at the crystal fountain," Mustadio said, brushing back a stray lock. "They got married just a few months ago, if you didn't know. It was a private ceremony at Lionel Castle."

"I did," Meliadoul said. "I would've gone, but I was in the middle of a tough time. I just didn't feel like going to something joyous... It wasn't a good period of my life, I'll tell you that."

"I understand," Mustadio said, and he took her hand and led her across a small bridge. Small goldfish darted about in the cool, clear waters, eyes as true as diamonds. The crystal fountain was up ahead. Entirely made of crystal, it depicted a woman with beautiful hair pouring out her water jug, which was where the water came from. The water was ice-cold, excellent for filling vases for flowers.

A beautiful maiden with short blond hair, wearing a lavender robe and a white-brimmed lavender hat stood at its base, holding the hand of a blond man who wore silver armor and a silver cape. Neither was armed, however. Meliadoul and Mustadio came just in time to watch them begin to kiss tenderly.

"Ahem," Mustadio said, and Reis turned to him, blushing. She pushed back a lock of hair and looked at her sandaled feet.

"Hello, Mustadio," she said. Beowulf nodded, then looked at Meliadoul.

"It can't be... Meliadoul?" he said with a smile. Meliadoul nodded. The two friends embraced. Meliadoul turned to Reis, and the two hugged each other dearly as well. It had been three years since any of them had seen each other.

"Cid is at the entrance to the Igros Grand Tomb," Mustadio explained, pointing in the direction of the luxurious tomb. "Agrias said she'd meet us at the statue of the four fairies, and Cloud and Aeris said they'd meet us at the entrance to the White Shrine. Rafa and Malak said that they'd be at the riverside."

"It seems so long since Aeris and Cloud were married at Zarghidas," Meliadoul said, recollecting the thoughts. The two lovebirds got married more than two or three years ago. Thinking of which, it had been exactly a year since the death of the Arch Angel and the restoration of 'peace' to Ivalice.

The four walked across a large, arching marble bridge from which they could see the top of the beautiful Igros Grand Tomb, built especially for Igros nobles. However, it had long since been closed due to an infestation of mosfungus, which no one had been able to successfully exterminate.

A man cloaked in white stood near the entrance, which was sealed with limestone. He did have a rather thick beard, but his war-torn eyes showed clearly that he was Thunder God Cid. Meliadoul rushed to greet him with a warm hug, which he accepted rather surprised.

"It's good to see you too, Meliadoul," he said with a grin. Mustadio, Reis, and Beowulf caught up with the excited warrior. "So much has happened these past few years. I've had to keep myself from growing famous. Delita would surely want my head if I did."

"Yes, a wise choice, Cid," Mustadio said, nodding. "Delita isn't too fond of anything to do with Ramza anymore, is he?"  
  


"No," Reis said flatly. "He's grown colder over the years, which is so obviously rubbing off on his son. Poor Ovelia..."

No one spoke for at least a minute. Princess Ovelia had bore Delita one child, a boy, before dying and being buried in a huge site at the Royal Cemetery. If they could've gone, they would've. But they couldn't, as Delita would've seen them and had them arrested, even killed. He wanted nothing to do with Ramza or the past anymore, as it always reminded him of all the mistakes he had made.

Prince Balbanes, named after General Balbanes, Ramza's father, was the only exception to this. The young boy served as a constant reminder of the past for Delita, and was the only thing that did so. Delita paid little attention to his son, who was growing less and less kindhearted by the day. Clairvoyants expected the prince to become a fearsome, cruel tyrant with a long and horrid reign.

"Let's go meet Agrias," Cid decided. Everyone agreed, and then headed down the paved path to the statue of the four fairies. The statue of the four fairies was really one statue depicting four different fairies, all of them coming from a small jeweled lotus. One was ruby, one was sapphire, one was emerald, and one was amber. It was truly a beautiful statue, and everyone could clearly see a young woman standing at its base. However, no one could believe it was Agrias Oaks.

Agrias had definitely changed. She wore a silken dress and had a long golden braid tied with a white ribbon that fell upon her shoulder. Her feet were clad in tight sandals.

"Agrias?" Beowulf asked. The former guardian of Ovelia nodded her head, and smiled.

"Long time no see," she said with a grin, holding up a beautiful yellow rose. The two friends embraced warmly. Meliadoul walked shyly up. It had been a while before she had seen Agrias, her best friend.

"Hey Agrias," Meliadoul said with a smile. The two girls hugged, and then turned to Cid, who was feeling the ground. "What are you doing, Cid?"

"I feel something odd... It was like the rushing of earthbound forces. Anyways, that matters not. Let's go meet Cloud and his wife," he said. Everyone agreed, and headed for the White Shrine, a beautiful shrine made of pure white stone legendary for its pure luster.

A beautiful girl with a long auburn braid stood in front, staring off into the sky with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, each one glistening with dew. Even from a distance everyone marveled at the flowers, as they seemed to glow with an ethereal brilliance. They were all gathered perfectly, with an equal amount of each color. The girl wore a beautiful blue dress with elegant white silk gloves, and her braid was tied with a cerulean ribbon. Meliadoul instantly recognized her as Aeris.

"Hello, Aeris," she said, and Aeris turned to her with a smile.

"Why hello... Meliadoul?" she asked, and Meliadoul nodded, knowing that she wasn't too good with all of their names.

"Where's..." Reis asked, but she didn't finish as she saw where Cloud was, all though his appearance was much different. He wore a dark cape with a gray tunic, but did not hold his familiar Materia Blade. "Cloud?"

Cloud turned around. His eyes were different now. They had once been peaceful, now they seemed tormented. "Hello, Reis," he said, his voice as soft as a newborn lamb.

Cid gave Cloud a long stare, obviously shocked by his bedraggled appearance and the hostility lurking in his eyes. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. The odd man from the time machine never ceased to confuse everyone.

"The Mako," he said firmly, and then nothing else. Aeris looked down to keep tears from forming in her eyes. The group now set out to find Rafa and Malak, who were at the riverside.

"That's not very specific, is it?" Agrias asked aloud. "Basically, the 'riverside' could pertain to anywhere throughout the river."

"I think they mean a certain river," Mustadio said, "but my memory's a little fuzzy."

"You mean you can't remember?" Meliadoul said, looking at him, his tawny eyes filling with embarrassment.

"This is getting us nowhere," Cid said, and then turned around. "See, they're right there."

Everyone stared shocked at the two people sitting at the riverside. Rafa, the Heaven Knight, blessed with the skills of Truth, and Malak, the Hell Knight, granted with the skills of Untruth, sat chattering with each other. Rafa, who had always kept her hair short, now had long hair, which was beautiful against her tan skin. She no longer wore her hood, but she did wear a new version of her previous clothes with a gold sash. Her soft, cloudy eyes gazed up at the oncoming party. Malak, who had much the same kept his hair short, now hair nearly ear-length hair. He wore the suit of a ninja apparently, however held no weapons. His black, loose-fitting tunic was tied with a gray sash. His dark, frosty eyes gazed up to the oncoming party as well.

"Well if it isn't Meliadoul Tingel," Malak said, getting up and hugging her. Rafa hugged Agrias and Reis and smiled warmly.

"It's been a while," Rafa said, looking downwards. "Malak and I have some flowers to bring to the grave."

"Oh, what are they?" Aeris asked. Rafa held out a beautiful white rose, each petal glistening. Malak held out a bouquet of many small, coal-colored flowers. "Oh, a white rose and coaelcoraea!" Aeris said, recognizing the flowers at once. Everyone looked at her, awestricken.

Cloud merely chuckled. "She's good at that," he said. Aeris turned to him with a smile.

"I read books on flowers everyday," she said. "I'm determined to become the first scholar of flora."

Meliadoul smiled. "Well, good luck with that."

The now finished party now headed for their final destination: the final resting place of Alma Beoulve and her brother, Ramza. They had journeyed with him for such a long time, some with him since the start, others nearly at the end. But they always saw Ramza and Alma the same. Ramza was courageous and outrageous. If anything unjust happened, he didn't go with the flow simply because he was a noble. He rebelled until it was fair again. Alma was a shy and beautiful cleric whose fate was too grim. She was chosen amongst the demon Lucavi to become the inheritor of the soul of Ajora, the 'savior' of Ivalice. Ramza and Alma were now dead, fighting away the evils.

The small gravestone came into view. As they approached, a small white bunny hopped from off the gravestone and into a nearby rose bush. Meliadoul approached the stone grave, and with a grim look on her face read the etchings.

"Here lies Alma Beoulve, youngest, fairest, and purest of all Beoulves. May she join in the ring of holiness in eternity in heaven," Cid read aloud, voice shaky. Thunder God Cid was near tears. At the bottom of the gravestone read the person who wrote it: "Balbanes Beoulve."

"Balbanes Beoulve? Ramza's father wrote that?" Agrias asked aloud. "How could he? He died many years ago, after the end of the 50 Year War!"

"It isn't uncommon for a father to write what is to be on the gravestones of his children, especially nobles," Malak pointed out. "Just in case one of the children dies, the father has all ready made up his mind about what is on the gravestone."

"Oh," Agrias said. She looked at the tiny jade pot, which was filled with water but held no flowers. She slipped in her yellow rose. Cid followed suit with some beautiful green flowers, and Mustadio held out a small orange blossom. Aeris placed in her and Cloud's bouquet, as did Reis for her and Beowulf. Rafa and Malak finished it off. The final person to place in their flowers was Meliadoul.

Meliadoul bent down by the water pot, placing in her three white roses. She blinked softly as tears streamed down her face, and then she stood back up. The wind was blowing gently across the grave, and Meliadoul looked to the north, her hair billowing in the wind. She faintly saw the outline of a boy and girl on Chocobos. Funny... They resembled Ramza and Alma.

"Goodbye," Meliadoul said, and the party dispersed. Meliadoul was left alone with her thoughts as she crossed the bridge and left the cemetery, what could've been etched into her mind.


End file.
